Vending-machine



F. C. BATES.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-4| I920.

1,384,586, I Patented July 12, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

Hum/r 6'. Bafs.

3 mm nloz F. C. BATES.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 'AUG.4, 1920.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK C. BATES, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN B. STADER, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

VENDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 12, 1921.

To aZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, FRANK C. Barns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending-Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to vending machines and particularly to a machine capable of vending different sized articles; for example, the mechanism is so arranged that the machine is capable of vending pencils, cigarettes or other relatively thin articles, or cigars or other relatively thick articles, the variations in the size of the articles to be vended being compensated for by appropriate adjusting devices associated with the ejector mechanism.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine constructed in accordance with my invention, parts being broken away to show the interior mechanism, the ejector being in article-receiving position. 7

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the ejector in article-discharging position.

Fig. 3 is a view of the adjustable ejector actuator.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, perspective view of one end of the ejector, and

Fig. 5 is an end view of the ejector gate clip or slide.

The invention is illustrated as consisting of a receptacle or casing 1, in the top of which is a fixed hopper 2 to receive a carton or box 3 at its inlet, thebox or carton presumably containing the articles to be vended. The hopper 2 has a retracted opening at its lower end, discharging into-an ejector whereby the articles may be directed from the hopper to the discharge slot or opening 1.

The ejector is shown as consisting of a curved plate or segment of a cylinder 5, at the respective ends of which are segmental arms 6 and 7, fixed to a rock shaft 8, journaled in bearings 9 and 10 on the supporting bars 11 and 12, carried by the interior of the machine. The front edges of the segmental arms or levers 6 and 7 are faced by a plate 13, the ends 1 1 and 15 of which extend beyond the arms 6 and 7 to constitute guides for vertically sliding clips or guide members, one of which is shown in detail in Fig. 5 and designated by the reference numeral 11. Each of the clips consists of a plate bent back upon itself to form a return edge 15 to provide a groove 16 engaging the edge of the plate13 and each plate 1% carries a barrel 17 constituting a bearing for a rotatable shaft 18, extending across the plate 13 and carrying a swinging ejector plate or gate 19, adapted to swing toward and away from the plate 13,- as will be presently explained.

On the end of the shaft 18 is a pinion 20,

adapted to mesh with the segmental rack 21- on the ejector actuator. shown as a U-shaped member 22 including the standards 23 and 2st, slidable in the recessed blocks 25 and 26 secured to the cross bar 12. The standard 23 is provided with ratchet teeth 27, adapted to be engaged by a spring-pressed detent 28, carried by the socket member 25 whereby the member 22 may be raised and lowered and held in any adjusted position by the detent 28. Access to the detent may be had through the rear of the casing 1, which is provided with a rear door, not shown.

Journaled in one side of the casing 1 is a spring retracted rock shaft 29, having a hand lever 30 accessible from the outside of the casing and a crank arm 31 on the interior of the casing adapted to abut against a coin pan or receiver 32, normally registering with a coin slot 33 having an inlet opening accessible from the outside of the case and a discharge opening on the inside of the case.

The coin pan or receiver 32 is provided with a slot or opening 34: through its wall, adapted to be closed by a coin, check or token introduced through the slot 33. The initial downward movement of the coin within the pan or receiver 32 will be limited by the segmental or curved slot or plate 35, carried by the side of the case and extending across the opening 34; 0f the coin pan so that initially the coin will be held in the pan to be engaged by the crank 31. For example, if the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2 and a coin, check or token is introduced through the slot 33, it will fall into the pan 32 and rest against the stop 35. Then if the operator presses rearwardly upon the handle 30, the crank arm 31 will contact with the coin held in the pan carried by the arm 7' and a continued rearward swinging movement of the handle 30 will carry the ejector, including the arms 6 and 7, the member 5 and the plate 13, rearwardly. Since the members lt are carried by the edges of the. plate 13, they will be carried rearwardly, causing the pinion 20 to. roll over the rack21 to swing the gate 19 upwardly against the lower edge of the hopper 2. The member 5 acts as a valve or gate to normally close off the discharge end of the hopper 2 but as it swings. rearwardly, it will move past the hopper opening, allowing one of the articles to drop I between the plate 13 and the gate 19. When it has reached that position, the coin will have moved past theend of the stop 35 and will have dropped to the bottom of the case, allowing the spring 36 to retract the ejector V valve toward the front of the machine. In

doing this, the pinion will be caused to roll or rotate in the opposite direction, swinging the ejector gate 19 downwardly away fromthe plate 13 toward the opening 4 until it assumesthe position shown in Fig. 2, whereupon the article will be dropped through the opening 4 and the devicewill be ready to be again operated.

It is. to. be understood, of course, that as soon as. the operator releases the handle 30, the spring 37', wound about the shaft 29 and fixed, toonesideof the case 1, will rock the shaft to swing the. handle 30 and the crank 31 back to normal position, as shown in Fig. 2.. a 1

It articles of relatively small diameter are tobe vended, the base of the gate 19 must be relatively high with respect to the plate 13; otherwise, more than one article would drop into the space between 13 and 19. In such event, the rack 22 is raised relatively high and held in such position through the means of the detentor pawl 28. When, the rack is adjusted vertically, the members 14;? will slide vertically on the edgesof the plate 13 to adjust themselves to accommodate the rack and as they move up, they, of course, will carry the plate 19 with them.

If relatively thick articles are tobe vended, the U-shaped member 22 will be lowered. In; which event, the members 14 will drop or move downwardly along the edges of the plate 13 so that the pinion 20 may engage the rackteeth. In that event, the space between 13' and 19 will be relatively large andthickerarticles may be received V j V p ng the arms, a shaft carried by said-clips, a gate rigidly connected-to the shaft, apin- 130 therein.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the device will vend articles of dif: :t'erent thicknesses between two extremes and that it can be readily adjusted whenever the occasion demands. It will be further apparent that the device is simple in operation and that it is well adapted toperformthe function for which it is intended.

That I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

1. In a vending machine, an article-containing hopper, a swinging valve closing and opening the discharge end of the hopper, a swinging gate slidably mounted on the valve, and means for rotating the gate.

2. In avending machine, an article-containing. hopper, a swinging valve closing and opening the discharge end of the hopper, a swinging gate slidably mounted on the valve, a pinion mounted: rigidly with respect to the gate, and a vertically adjustable rack for engagement with said pinion. 3. In a vending machine, an article-containing hopper, a swinging valve closing and opening the discharge end of the hopper, a swinging gate slidably mounted on the valve, a pinion mounted rigidly with respect to the gate, a vertically adjustable rack for engagement with said pinion, and

means for holdingsaid rack in any adjust ed position.

l In a vending maehine, a hopper having a discharge opening at its lower end, a valve for closing and opening the discharge end of the hopper, a, wall carried by the valve, a vertically adjustable gate mounted on the wall and having swinging movement with respectthereto, and means for actuating the valve and gate.

a. In a vending machine, a hopperjhav- V ing a discharge opening, at its lower end, swlng ngarms mounted below the discharge endot the hopper, a curved valve plate carried by the upper ends of thearms, an e ector wall carried by the forward edges discharge end having upstanding. arms, a V

curved valve plate carried by the arms and movable "beneath the discharge end of the hopper, an eiector platecarried by the for-v ward. edges otthe arms and having endsextending beyond the endsof the arms, clips vertically adjustable with respect. to said ejector plate and having portions overlapion on one end of the shaft, a segmental rack beneath the pinion, means for Vertically adjusting said rack to compensate for vertical movement of the clips, and means for swinging the arms to actuate the ejector, the Valve and the gate.

7. In a vending machine, an article container, an ejector below the container, and means for raising and lowering the ejector for adapting the machine to vend various 10 sized articles.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature.

FRANK C. BATES. 

